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Career Management - Harvard ManageMentor

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Career Management What Would You Do? David had an epiphany. He no longer wanted to work in advertising. He liked the people, but he didn't find his career stimulating anymore. Then reality set in. He thought to himself: "I'm too old to start from scratch. Too old to learn new skills. And too old to go back to school." Yet he realized that he had years of valuable knowledge and experience. Everyone said he was a great manager, and he had a knack for understanding client needs. Then it hit him. "I'm not too old to start something new—I'm too young to give up on my dreams!" But where should he start? What should he do to move himself in the right direction? What would you do? As David begins the process of thinking about a new career, he might ask himself the following questions: • What are his core business interests—that is, what types of work is he most passionate about? For example, does he prefer problem solving, working with people, or making decisions? • What are his deepest work values? For example, does he care more about having autonomy or earning a big salary? • And, what are his strongest skills? Once he has identified the answers to these questions, he will be on his way to defining and navigating his career path. In this topic, you'll find ways to determine what direction you want to take, learn how to assess your current skills and abilities, and find tools that will help you get on the path to more rewarding and meaningful work.

Topic Objectives This topic contains information on how to: • Identify your core business interests, work reward values, and skills • Identify the career opportunities within your current role or organization that will let you express those interests, achieve those rewards, and use or develop those skills • Benefit from career-development resources and processes like career counselors, mentors, networking, informational interviewing, and professional development reviews • Help others manage their careers

About the Mentors James Waldroop, Ph.D. and Timothy Butler, Ph.D. James Waldroop and Timothy Butler are the directors of the M.B.A. Career Development Programs at the Harvard Business School. They have spent many years helping business people work through the career planning and development processes. Waldroop and Butler are also the authors of three highly-acclaimed Harvard Business Review articles and two books: Discovering Your Career in Business (Perseus, 1997) and The Twelve Bad Habits that Hold Good People Back (Currency, 2001). They are frequent contributors to the national media, with articles in Fortune and Fast Company, and have appeared on radio and TV to discuss issues related to career management, retaining talent, and maximizing personal effectiveness.

What Is Career Development? Change is healthy! The world is changing fast, including the world of work. The increasing pace of change that has marked recent decades can leave you breathless sometimes, whether you're: • A manager in a large corporation • An entrepreneur running your own business

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• An individual contributor in a small company • An independent contractor providing services to clients When it comes to your career, change is natural—and healthy! You strengthen your professional abilities every time you: • Take on new challenges • Gain insight into what you want from your work • Learn a new set of skills You then find more satisfaction in your work and contribute more to your organization. The process of assessing where you are in your work life, deciding where you want to be, and then making the changes necessary to get there, is called career development. It's an ongoing process that you orchestrate. Managing your career requires you to view your professional development as a path or a direction, rather than a point or a job. Your career is not a one-time decision made after graduation, but rather an iterative process that you refine or redefine as you grow professionally.

Growing at your company As you think about redefining your career path (or discovering a new one) take care that you don't fall victim to the all-too-common "migration temptation"—the belief that if you're unhappy in your job, you should go to another company. The fact is, it may not be your company that's the problem. More likely, it's something about your current role. You stand an excellent chance of finding renewed satisfaction in your work if you take advantage of opportunities at your company to stretch yourself and develop new skills, either by enhancing your current role or taking on one or more entirely new roles within the firm. Your company benefits, too, because it now has an even more loyal employee (you!), without incurring the costs of evaluating, hiring, and training someone to replace you. Organizations large and small now realize that, in order to remain competitive in a fast-changing world, they need employees who: • Are dedicated to the idea of continuous learning • Regularly assess their interests, values, and skills so as to figure out the kinds of work for which they are best suited • Are committed to their company's success • Understand the skills and behaviors the company will need in the future—and are willing and able to respond quickly and flexibly to develop those capabilities • Can move easily across functional boundaries and are able to switch between regular duties and special projects

Navigating the job-change process Key Idea Even though change is natural and healthy, that doesn't mean it's always easy. Managing your own professional development entails some focused effort on your part, as the following steps suggest.

1. The first step and the most critical task is to know yourself. Knowing yourself means that you are able to articulate how the following three categories apply to you. ◦ Your most passionate business interests are the kinds of work you're most passionate about. ◦ Your deepest work values are the rewards—such as autonomy, money, close working relationships with colleagues—that you consider most important. ◦ Your strongest skills are your abilities, the things you have learned how to do, such as use a computer. 2. The second step is to become familiar with the many different development opportunities and resources your company has to offer. 3. The last step is to pursue those opportunities that you've identified are best for you. This process can be both exciting and daunting. Prepare to feel stuck at times, and to feel that things are moving way too fast at other times. The good news is that there are many resources available to help you through the career-growth process—including support and insight from your colleagues, friends, and family. You can also take advantage of a selection of formal assessment tools to help you clarify your interests, values, and skills. However, if you know what to expect ahead of time, you'll be better able to navigate the change process.


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Taking Charge of Your Career Defining your career The idea that employees should be in charge of their own professional development is relatively new. In the past, people expected to choose a career early in life, find an employer, and then stay at that company for the rest of their working lives. In return for their loyalty and longevity at the company, they received all sorts of protections— including job security, a steady rise up the "corporate ladder" (with corresponding increases in income), and a retirement pension. In today's business environment, that "contract" between employer and employee no longer exists in many companies. Why? A confluence of radical changes has rewritten the rules of the workplace. These changes include the following: • Globalization of the economy • A shift from the Industrial Age to the Information Age • New advances in technology (such as the Internet) • A boom in entrepreneurship and a proliferation of new, small, fast-moving companies • A wave of reengineering and restructuring that has led to flatter and leaner organizations These changes mean that the skills required for any company to stay competitive—whether large or small, new or mature—keep shifting at an ever-increasing rate of speed.

Shifting skills to stay competitive Think of yourself not as the architect of your career, but as the sculptor. —B.C. Forbes Today, workers must update and broaden their abilities more frequently and use a wider variety of skills—whether they're employees of a company or running their own business, or whether it's the beginning or end of their career. Middle managers especially have felt the impact of organizational flattening, in several respects: • Managers' responsibilities and roles have shifted so dramatically that many people are no longer sure how to define the term manager! • Owing to layoffs and restructurings in recent decades, many managers have lost their jobs or have had their responsibilities redefined in not-so-desirable ways. These scenarios can pose difficulties for even the toughest among us. However, there's also a bright side to the picture: As companies reinvent themselves, new opportunities for growth emerge that no one would have dreamed of a few years ago. You can play a proactive part in these changing times. How? By taking charge of your own career development—constantly clarifying what you want to learn next and then taking the steps necessary to obtain that knowledge. Also, professional development doesn't necessarily mean changing your career or job, or discovering your ideal career for the first time, as a person new to the work force would do. It can also mean growing and increasing your satisfaction within your current role and professional path. This is far healthier—and more stimulating—than getting caught in a job rut, where you do the same thing, year after year. And it makes you a far more valuable employee to your company.

Think career lattice, not career ladder The fact is, in today's work world, career development is for everyone—no matter what your industry, position, or age. To grasp the differences between today's and yesterday's employment "rules," compare career-ladder thinking with career-lattice thinking.


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The table below illustrates the difference between career-ladder and career-lattice thinking. Examples of Career-Ladder and Career-Lattice Thinking

Career-Ladder Thinking Career-Lattice Thinking

I move up or down the

I can move up or down or side to

corporate ladder.

side.

My boss has all the

My colleagues and I must figure

answers.

things out.

The longer I stay at the

The more I improve my learning,

company, the more

contributions, and performance,

rewards I'll receive.

the more rewards I'll receive.

My company is

I and each of my colleagues are

responsible for its own

responsible for our organization's

success.

success.

Activity: Career lattice—or ladder?

I'll just do my job, even if it's boring.

Does this statement represent career-ladder or career-lattice thinking?

     

Ladder


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"Ladder" is the correct choice. The passive attitude of this statement is characteristic of career-ladder thinking. In reality, employees need to be proactive in finding enjoyment in their work.

     

Lattice

Not the best choice. The passive attitude of this statement is characteristic of career-ladder thinking. In reality, employees need to be proactive in finding enjoyment in their work.

My promotions and titles are what matter most.


     

Ladder

"Ladder" is the correct choice. This statement shows a very narrow focus on "getting ahead," ignoring the other satisfactions and rewards of work that are part of career-lattice thinking.

     

Lattice

Not the best choice. This statement shows a very narrow focus on "getting ahead," ignoring the other satisfactions and rewards of work that are part of career-lattice thinking.

My self-worth stems from what others think of me.


     

Ladder

"Ladder" is the correct choice. This passive statement is characteristic of career-ladder thinking. In reality, employees should be proactive in defining their own sense of self-worth rather than leaving it to others.

     

Lattice

Not the best choice. This passive statement is characteristic of career-ladder thinking. In reality, employees should be proactive in defining their own sense of self-worth rather than leaving it to others.

What and how I contribute to my organization is what matters most.



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     

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Ladder

Not the best choice. This statement is characteristic of career-lattice thinking. It shows an appreciation of the company as a whole and an awareness of the need to make proactive contributions.

     

Lattice

"Lattice" is the correct choice. This statement is characteristic of career-lattice thinking. It shows an appreciation of the company as a whole and an awareness of the need to make proactive contributions.

My self-worth stems from my independence, flexibility, and ability to work effectively and creatively with colleagues to help our organization achieve


     

Ladder

Not the best choice. This statement shows a proactive attitude toward the construction of self-worth. This is characteristic of career-lattice thinking.

     

Lattice

"Lattice" is the correct choice. This statement shows a proactive attitude toward the construction of selfworth. This is characteristic of career-lattice thinking.

I need to collaborate with others as well as take responsibility for my own employability.


     

Ladder

Not the best choice. Recognizing the need for both collaboration and individual responsibility is a balanced perspective characteristic of career-lattice thinking.

     

Lattice

"Lattice" is the correct choice. Recognizing the need for both collaboration and individual responsibility is a balanced perspective characteristic of career-lattice thinking.

I'm dependent on the company for my security and job satisfaction.


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     

Ladder

"Ladder" is the correct choice. This is a passive attitude characteristic of career-ladder thinking. In reality, employees must work proactively to keep themselves secure and achieve satisfaction.

     

Lattice

Not the best choice. This is a passive attitude characteristic of career-ladder thinking. In reality, employees must work proactively to keep themselves secure and achieve satisfaction.

I'm responsible for finding meaning in my work.


     

Ladder

Not the best choice. Taking responsibility for finding meaning and enjoyment in one's work is part of career-lattice thinking.

     

Lattice

"Lattice" is the correct choice. Taking responsibility for finding meaning and enjoyment in one's work is part of career-lattice thinking.

Think strategically about your career Your company is constantly thinking strategically about its positioning in the industry and the value of its products and services. Likewise, you can constantly think strategically about your place in the company and the value of your work interests and skills. By regularly attending to your development and updating your skills, you become increasingly valuable to your company. You can also derive more and more satisfaction and stimulation from your work. What if you work for a small company or have launched your own business? You can still think strategically about your career. And you'll probably feel even more responsible for your professional growth. Why? Because, unlike many employees in large corporations, you won't have access to an in-house career center or company-sponsored professional-development programs—leaving your career development entirely up to you.

Take ownership of your own development Personal Insight What organizations say is that you're good, you're talented, and the way we are going to develop you is by throwing you into jobs that are over your head, because that seems to be the best way to develop people. The lifeguard in this story is your boss.


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Now, you notice the boss does not go into the pool with you, and many bosses are actually busy, so they may actually head off to another swimming pool while you're flailing around in your pool. But the boss says to him- or herself, you know "I've been in that water before; I figured out how to do it; I'm sure you will." They also put a little ring around you. What's that? Well, that may be HR policies or a training program or the boss is saying "You know I'm here whenever you need a little help." But basically, it's illusory; the support's not there. Now, the idea is that you'll figure out how to swim on your own. And if you don't, well, the idea is that you just weren't up to this task, and sadly, they'll probably move you back to a smaller pool, and maybe even a kiddie pool, and maybe even take you out of swimming for good.

The moral of the story is that you own your own development; that organizations have a fairly primitive view of how they develop talent, and it's a shame; because ultimately the boss should help you, should be more direct; that life ring should be full of air, and we should move you more gradually into the deep end of the pool.

The lesson is that you, yourself, have to take initiative in order to develop yourself as a leader. You have to proactively seek out coaching and guidance. At times, it'll be awkward, because you'll feel you're revealing your own weaknesses. You may have certain bosses who may not be open to people seeking out coaching and feedback, but find those opportunities wherever you can.

You yourself may have to propose taking courses, seeking experiences, getting a personal coach; but in many ways, you own your development. In the best organizations, they take it a step further. They actually reward bosses for stepping in and guiding and providing coaches; they actually teach bosses how to coach people. They actually reward bosses for people development. They think much more cautiously and deeply about jobs; and the right jobs, given who you are and what you need in this moment, versus "Well, let's just throw them in, see how they do." They're also very clever about how you transition into a job, and as you get to more senior levels, they provide support and feedback along the way, as you learn the skills you need in the transition. Organizations often take the sink-or-swim approach to people development. Therefore, Jay Conger counsels individuals to take charge of their own development and to seek out coaches and mentors for guidance. Professor Jay Conger Executive Director, Leadership Institute, University of Southern California Jay Conger is the Henry Kravis Research Chair Professor of Leadership at the Kravis Leadership Institute at Claremont McKenna College. Professor Conger is widely acknowledged as one of the world's experts on leadership. He has done extensive research into leadership, boards of directors, organizational change and the training and development of leaders and managers. Prior to his academic career Professor Conger worked in government, and as an international marketing manager for a high technology company. After moving into academia Professor Conger became a research scientist at the Center for Effective Organizations at the University of Southern California. He then became the Executive Director of its Leadership Institute. Professor Conger was subsequently invited to join London Business School in 1999 in the role of Professor of Organizational Behavior. He remained there until he took his current position at Claremont McKenna College in 2005. Harvard Business School has also asked him to help redesign its organizational behavior course around leadership issues. Additionally, Professor Conger has been involved in executive education at INSEAD. An accomplished writer, he has written or co-written over 10 books and 100 scholarly articles. His titles include Shared Leadership: Reframing the How's and Why's of Leading Others, and Winning 'Em Over: A New Model for Managing in the Age of Persuasion. His latest book, Growing Your Company's Leaders: How Great Organizations Use Succession Management to Sustain Competitive Advantage, helps leaders to secure and prepare their company's next generation of leaders. Alongside his academic work Professor Conger consults for a number of private corporations and non-profit organizations worldwide.

Knowing Yourself Who are you? The most important step in managing your career is getting to know yourself. This is true whether you're just beginning your career, established in one but wishing you could change in some way, or happy where you are but still wanting to improve certain aspects of it.


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Knowing yourself includes articulating: • What types of work you like to do • Which activities give you the most meaning • What kinds of environments you prefer to work in • What sorts of people you like to work with • What abilities you possess and those you need to develop In other words, to define and navigate your career path, you need to identify three main qualities about yourself:

1. Your most passionate core business interests 2. Your deepest work values 3. Your strongest skills

Identifying main qualities about yourself People cannot find their missions until they know themselves. —Laurie Beth Jones How do you go about identifying your core business interests, work values, and skills? You have three sources of information to which you can turn to begin this clarification process: • You • Your colleagues, friends, and family • Formal assessment tools

Look inward To use yourself as an information source, look deep within yourself to identify key themes. You can do this by using checklists or worksheets that help you clarify your core interests, values, and skills. You can also engage in some short mental exercises to get to know yourself better. Here are just a few: • Ask yourself what you cherish most about yourself. What is most special about you? What are your unique gifts? • Leaf through some magazines and find a picture that you think best represents who you are. Ask yourself why you chose that particular image. • Imagine that you are at the end of your life, looking back over your entire work history. Finish these sentences: "I am most proud of ________." "I wish I had done more of _______." Notice what the results of the above activities suggest about your interests, values, and skills.

Ask your colleagues, friends, and family It takes two to speak the truth – one to speak and one to listen. —Henry David Thoreau The people who know you best often become excellent sources of information about your work interests, values, and abilities. Indeed, if you imagine yourself as the CEO of your own professional growth, you can think of these people as your "board of directors." Try these activities to build self-knowledge with the help of your personal board: • Consult your colleagues. If you work in a large or small organization, ask colleagues, "What's my reputation in the company? What am I best known for?" • Interview your friends. Pick five or six people who know you well. Ask them the following: ◦ "What four words would you use to describe me?" ◦ "If your best friend asked you to tell her more about me, what would you say?" ◦ "What do you see as my driving force? What makes me tick?" • Ask your board to write letters. Invite several people to write a letter to you, about you. (Tip: choose a mix of people; for example, a colleague, supervisor, family member, college or business-school friend, a social friend, your partner, and even an adult son or daughter.)


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Provide board members with a form that lists the following questions and that includes spaces where they can write or type their answers. Ask them to use the third person ("Pat enjoys..."): • "What would be the ideal work for me?" • "What seems to make me most fulfilled and excited?" • "What work should I stay away from, and why?" • "What about myself do I have trouble seeing?" • "What aspects of myself do I need to change to be more successful?" • "What aspects of myself should I not change?" Collect all the responses and look for common themes. These themes will provide clues to your interests, values, and skills. Also, be sure to thank your board members for their honesty and thoughtful attention. They'll appreciate knowing that you're using the information and insight they've provided.

Use formal assessment tools There's a broad array of formal assessment tools that can help you clarify your deepest interests, values, and skills. For some of these, you might want to see a career counselor, who will administer the tests and interpret them for you. For others, you can take the tests and interpret the results yourself. If your company's human resources department has a career counselor who uses assessment tools, pay a visit and see if you can schedule a time to take any tests you're interested in. If one isn't available, consider hiring a career counselor to help you with the tests.

Know when it's time for a change There's another important part of knowing yourself: recognizing when it's time to explore new work opportunities. The signals can differ for each person. However, here's a list of possible indications that you've outgrown your current role and are ready for a change: • A feeling of dread when Monday morning rolls around • Envy of what others are doing for work • Restlessness or boredom • A recurring sense of repetition in your work • A growing interest in nonwork areas of your life, such as a course you're taking or a home-improvement project you're considering • Inability to see a future that you want to move toward • A tendency to overreact to small problems • A need for more intellectual challenge, financial compensation, autonomy, or another major work reward value

Do what you love Personal Insight I got into this business in the summer of 1978—27 years ago—and it was kind of an interesting period in my life. I'd grown up in the computer services and software business, had finally sold the company, and was living in Southern California and loafing really playing golf. I started feeling like a degenerate. I was only in my early forties and just didn't have anything to do. All of my friends were working, so I couldn't even find anybody to have lunch with. I started thinking a lot about what I wanted to do and what was going to make me happy, and I realized that to that point in my working career, I had kind of done the things that were necessary. I was trying to make a living and just do the best I could and make money, but I was never really happy. I wasn't excited about getting out of bed in the morning and going to work, so I gave a lot of thought to what it was that I wanted to do, and I knew it was something different. One of the main conclusions that I reached was that it was important for me at that point in my life—as I mentioned, I was in my early forties—to do something, you know; this is not a dress rehearsal. And I wanted to do things that I loved doing. Why go through life doing things that you don't love doing? And I felt that if I was doing things I loved, I'd have a better chance at being good at it than doing something that I didn't love, because it wouldn't be work, it would be joy. So, I went on a little journey of looking at a lot of businesses, some of them pretty weird. And one day I came across this little company called Williams-Sonoma, which was struggling. It was a little US $4 million dollar company with four stores and a small catalog, located in San Francisco. One thing led to another, and I was able to purchase the business in the summer of 1978. We've been very fortunate. We've grown a business that were quite proud of, and I can tell you that over the last 27 years, I don't think there's been a day or a morning where I wasn't excited about getting up and going to work.


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I've loved what we do, I've loved our customers, and I've loved our merchandise. I'm so proud of what we do. Every time I walk into a store or pick up a catalog or look on the Internet, I'm just so proud of our people and what our customers say about us, and it's been a wonderful experience for me. Too many people do what is necessary to make a living in life but don't have a genuine enthusiasm for what they do. Changing careers to do something different can bring a sense of personal accomplishment and pride that really boosts personal satisfaction and productivity. Howard Lester Chairman, Williams-Sonoma Howard Lester is the Chairman of Williams-Sonoma. Mr. Lester has extensive experience in computer operations, and spent 15 years in the computer industry before entering retailing. He spent six years with Computer Sciences Corporation, and was then Executive Vice President of Bradford National Corporation, which had acquired Centurex. Mr. Lester purchased Williams-Sonoma in 1978, and since that time has held the positions of President, CEO and now Chairman. Mr. Lester is on the Board of Harold's Stores, and is on the Executive Council of UCSF. He is on the advisory Boards of the Retail Management Institute of Santa Clara University and the Walter A. Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. In 1991 he endowed the Lester Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation within the Haas School.

Eight core business interests The following three categories illustrate one way to describe core business interests. This method represents interests as eight business functions sorted into three groups. Category 1: Application of Expertise • Application of Technology (an interest in the inner workings of things; curiosity about better ways of using technology to solve business problems; and comfort with mathematics, computer programming, and physical models of reality) • Quantitative Analysis (interest in problem solving that relies on mathematical analysis) • Theory Development and Conceptual Thinking (broadly conceptual approaches to problem solving; interest in and comfort with ideas, imagination, theory, plans, scenarios, and forecasts) • Creative Production (interest in highly creative activities) Category 2: Working with People • Counseling and Mentoring (interest in helping others and developing relationships as an integral part of business work) • Managing People and Relationships (interest in dealing with people and interpersonal issues daily) Category 3: Control and Influence • Enterprise Control (interest in having ultimate decision-making authority for an enterprise, division, or project) • Influence through Language and Ideas (interest in influencing others through the skilled use of written and spoken language)

Core interests in combination Choose a job you love, and you will never work a day in your life. —Confucius Most people have between one and three core business interests, some of which may be stronger than others. For example, you may be fascinated by quantitative puzzles and feel great satisfaction in helping other people learn to problem solve as well. These core interests remain relatively stable over your lifetime. Interestingly, not only can your core interests overlap; they might also manifest themselves differently at different times. For example, if your core interest is Creative Production, perhaps: • As a child, you loved writing stories and plays • As a teen, you enjoyed devising mechanical gadgets • As an adult, you desired a career in design engineering or movie production

Figuring out your core interests


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You can identify your core business interests simply by (1) learning what typical activities express the various interests, and then (2) seeing which of the activities you find most appealing. The following tables give examples of such activities. Core Interests: Categories

Category 1: Application of Expertise

Application of Technology

Quantitative Analysis

Examples:

Examples:

• Engineering

• Market-research

• Computer programming

analysis

• Production and systems

• Forecasting

planning

• Computer-model

• Product and process

building

design

• Production

• Process analysis

scheduling

• Production planning

• Cash-flow and

• Systems analysis

investment

• Mechanical

analysis

crafting/manufacturing

• Accounting

• Research

Theory Development and

Creative Production

Conceptual Thinking

Examples:

Examples:

• New-product

• Economic-theory

design

developing

• Marketing and

• Business-model

advertising

developing

• New-idea

• Competition analysis

generation

• Designing "big-picture"

• Developing

strategy

innovative

• Process design

approaches and

• Teaching business theory

solutions • Event planning • Conducting public relations • Entertaining • Writing • Illustrating

Category 2: Working with People

Counseling and

Managing People and

Mentoring

Relationships

Examples:

Examples:

• Coaching • Training • Teaching

• Managing others to accomplish the goals of the business

• Helping

• Directing

• Drawing people

• Supervising

out • Supporting

• Leading and inspiring others • Selling


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• Providing feedback and

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• Negotiating • Motivating

advice

Category 3: Control and Influence

Enterprise Control

Influence Through

Examples:

Language and Ideas

• Controlling resources to

Examples:

actualize a business

• Negotiating

vision

• Deal-making

• Setting strategic direction for a

• Conducting public relations

company, business

• Selling

unit, work team, or

• Persuading

division

• Designing

• Having ultimate decision-making authority

advertising campaigns • Communicating

• Making deals

ideas through

• Holding ultimate

writing or speaking

responsibility for business transactions, such as trades, sales, etc.

Other ways to determine core interests To determine your core interests, you could also try this exercise:

1. Think about whether you're envious of one or more particular colleagues. That is, do they have jobs that you wish you had? 2. What activities do these people do that you wish you could do? 3. In previous jobs that you've held, what kinds of activities did you keep gravitating toward? When you're working on projects, which stage of the project excites you the most—the planning stage? Implementation? Follow-up? What do the answers to the above questions suggest about your core business interests? Finally, you can experiment with: • Assessment tools • Self-reflection exercises • Activities that help you gain insights about yourself from others

Activity: Interests assessment

Answer each of the following four questions "yes" or "no." Record your answer to each question manually as you go.

I am interested in...

1. Controlling resources to actualize a business vision

2. Holding ultimate responsibility for business transactions, such as trades, sales, etc.


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3. Having ultimate decision-making authority

4. Setting strategic direction for a company, business unit, work team, or division

Tally your score, giving yourself one point for each "yes" answer, and select it from the options below.

     

0

Being in control of projects and resources is not very appealing to you. You may want to choose a career where you avoid extensive managerial duties.

     

1-2

Being in control of projects and resources is somewhat interesting to you. You may prefer to manage smaller projects over large ones.

     

3-4

This is one of your top interests. You may want to seek a career in project or resource management.



1. Deal-making

2. Negotiating

3. Selling

4. Persuading


     

0

Achieving influence through communication is not very appealing to you. You may want to avoid careers where you have to be the cheerleader for a project or sell ideas to clients or customers.

     

1-2

Achieving influence through communication is somewhat interesting to you. You might like a career that involves occasional presentations and client interactions.


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     

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3-4

This is one of your top interests. You want to achieve influence and control via excellence in your spoken or written language. You like to communicate your ideas to others. You may enjoy a career conducting public relations or designing advertising campaigns.



1. Coaching

2. Training

3. Drawing people out

4. Providing feedback and advice


     

0

You don't really enjoy working with direct reports to overcome problems and develop skills. You may want a career where these responsibilities are delegated to someone else.

     

1-2

Working with direct reports to overcome problems and develop skills is somewhat interesting to you. You may want it to be a limited part of your career, delegating some mentoring responsibilities and taking on others yourself.

     

3-4

Working with direct reports to overcome problems and develop skills is a top interest for you. You might find a lot of satisfaction in a job where you work with young direct reports who need a lot of guidance.



1. Managing others to accomplish the goals of the business

2. Directing


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3. Supervising

4. Leading and inspiring others


     

0

Managing people and relationships is not very appealing to you. You might want to find a company where employees can do their work independently.

     

1-2

Managing people and relationships is somewhat interesting to you. You may prefer to work with small teams so this is a significant but not overwhelming part of your responsibilities.

     

3-4

This is one of your top interests. A career where team leadership is one of your primary responsibilities would be a good fit for you.



1. Developing innovative approaches and solutions

2. Event planning

3. Entertaining

4. Writing and/or illustrating


     

0

Brainstorming and visioning are not particularly appealing to you. You may prefer a position where your responsibility is to help implement other people's ideas.

     

1-2

Brainstorming and visioning are somewhat interesting to you. You might like a career that involves a good mix of creating ideas and implementing them.


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     

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3-4

This is one of your top interests. You might enjoy a career in new product design, marketing and advertising, or new idea generation.



1. Economic-theory developing

2. Competition analysis

3. Designing "big-picture" strategy

4. Teaching business theory


     

0

Creating the structures or making the projections that your company operates on is not that appealing to you. You may want to avoid jobs where you would have responsibility for these things and focus on individual projects and concrete work.

     

1-2

You are somewhat interested in creating the structures and making the projections that your company operates on. You may wish to find a career where these responsibilities are mixed with managing individual projects and doing concrete work.

     

3-4

This is one of your top interests. You may enjoy a career in business model development or process design.



1. Engineering

2. Computer programming

3. Production and systems planning


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4. Mechanical crafting/manufacturing


     

0

Making use of new technologies is not that appealing to you. You may want to stick to jobs that only involve the use of technology you know and are comfortable with.

     

1-2

You are somewhat interested in using new technologies. A good career for you might involve a mix of working with both new and familiar technology.

     

3-4

This is one of your top interests. You probably have a knack for technology, math, or science. You may enjoy a career in research, process or systems analysis, or product design.



1. Market-research analysis

2. Forecasting

3. Computer-model building

4. Accounting


     

0

Working with numbers is not very appealing to you. You may want to avoid careers that involve making sophisticated mathematical projections or analyses.

     

1-2

Working with numbers is somewhat appealing to you. You may want a career where you can mix mathematical analysis and projection with other kinds of work.

     

3-4


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This is one of your top interests. You are probably comfortable working with numbers and like using math to solve problems. You may enjoy a career in cash-flow and investment analysis, production scheduling, or finance.

Clarify Your Work Values What are work values? Key Idea People mean many different things when they speak of values. For example, many of us speak of family values, national values, or spiritual values.

Work values constitute a special set of values. Specifically, they're the values you place on the various rewards that you might get in return for performing your job. They are the values that motivate you and give you energy and excitement about your work. Here are some examples of work values: • Financial rewards convey financial security and stability. They might include a predictable salary, benefits, future employment, and the opportunity to acquire wealth. • Task rewards include intellectual challenge and mental stimulation. • People rewards are associated with affiliation—the opportunity to work with colleagues you like and admire. • Career rewards provide you access to people and opportunities that will position you well for your next career move. • Lifestyle rewards such as work/life balance allow you time to pursue other important aspects of your life, such as family or leisure activities.

Why clarify your values? For the secret of man's being is not only to live but to have something to live for. —Fyodor Dostoyevsky Clarifying your values offers several benefits: • It increases the likelihood that you'll choose satisfying work. It may be difficult to find one position that satisfies all of your work values. But if what you're doing for work doesn't provide enough of the rewards that you consider most important, you probably won't remain happy in it for very long. • It lets you "shop" more efficiently for the right developmental opportunities. Just as you can evaluate a potential computer purchase much more quickly if you keep a few must-have features in mind, you can judge a work opportunity more wisely if you remember your most crucial rewards. • It helps you match your reward values to an organization's or department's culture. Work rewards manifest themselves in an organization's or department's culture—the way people do things, what they expect, what they think is most important, and so forth. A large company's different departments (for example, engineering, sales, or human resources) might have markedly different cultures. By knowing your values, you can pick the culture that will provide those rewards.

How to clarify your values There are many different ways to clarify your values. Here are just a few:

1. Use tools: You can use various checklists or worksheets to identify your top work values. 2. Ask reflective questions: You can try these questions for reflection: ◦ Think of times when you've passionately debated something with another person: What issues did the debates center on? Which side did you take? Why? ◦ Is there anything for which you'd be willing to give up everything you own? If so, what is it?


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◦ If you could share the one most important thing you've learned in your life with someone else, what would it be? The answers to these questions give you clues to your deepest values. 3. Consult close friends and colleagues: Finally, you can consult people who know you well. Ask them what values they think are most important to you. For example, what do they see you getting most excited about in your work? Note: In clarifying values, many people face a common temptation to list values that they think they should have—like altruism—and to avoid listing values they think they shouldn't have—like desire for prestige or financial gain. Be as honest as you possibly can when doing this exercise; genuine answers will make it much easier for you to evaluate and choose the best possible work opportunities for you.

Activity: Rewards assessment

Answer each of the following two questions "yes" or "no." Record your answer to each question manually as you go.

I want to ...

1. Influence the policies and work environment of my company

2. Exercise authority over others


     

0

You do not crave the opportunity to exercise power and influence over others. You may feel comfortable with others establishing your goals and metrics, or prefer autonomy.

     

1

You may enjoy the opportunity to influence others in certain situations. Perhaps you feel comfortable with others establishing your company's goals and metrics, but you enjoy managing smaller projects or teams.

     

2

You may enjoy holding a high-influence position, such as vice president. Or you may prefer to work at a smaller company, where each employee holds a larger sway over policy.


I want to ...

1. Earn a very high salary

2. Earn performance-based bonuses



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     

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0

Although you need enough financial reward to remain solvent, other rewards take precedence.

     

1

Compensation is important, but it is only one of the rewards that you value.

     

2

Compensation is among the top rewards you should consider when evaluating your current or future position(s).


I want to ...

1. Continually build and improve my skill set

2. Achieve excellence in my field


     

0

You do not place a high value on growing your skill set; you may feel satisfied with your current skills.

     

1

You care about quality in your work and seek to grow your skill set further.

     

2

Attaining excellence in your role and in your field at large is very important to you. Make sure that you strive for work that challenges you to develop your expertise.


I want to ...

1. Receive recognition and appreciation for my contributions

2. Receive support for my development


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     

0

You may be largely self-motivated, so this is not a high-priority category for you.

     

1

You appreciate recognition and support—you like to feel like a valued contributor.

     

2

You desire recognition and support. Praise and rewards motivate you to do your best work, so you may favor a workplace that has a structure that will provide you support.


I want to ...

1. Feel like I belong to a group

2. Work closely with colleagues I admire and value


     

0

You may prefer to work by yourself, or with a small group of subordinates. You do not crave a sense of belonging to a group.

     

1

The quality of your colleagues is important to you – you are happiest when you are able to work with people you enjoy and admire.

     

2

You require a certain degree of affiliation with your colleagues to reach true job satisfaction. When evaluating current or future positions, be sure to strongly consider who you will be working with.



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I want to ...

1. Take on intellectual challenges

2. Work on interesting problems/projects


     

0

You are motivated by other rewards—perhaps rewards such as working with people or financial gains are more important to you.

     

1

You enjoy intellectual stimulation and challenge in your work, but it is not your top priority.

     

2

Intellectual stimulation and challenge is essential to your on-the-job happiness. Seek work in which you will continually be challenged to tackle new problems or embrace learning opportunities.


I want to ...

1. Get to and from work quickly

2. Work in an upscale or creative workspace


     

0

You do not place a lot of value on your work environment or its location, as long as certain other rewards are in place.

     

1

The aesthetics and location of your workplace are important to you. You feel that a well-maintained office space provides a comfortable and pleasing environment, and a reasonable commute is highly valuable.

     

2


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The atmosphere and/or location of your workspace are critically important to you. Perhaps certain types of spaces stimulate your creativity while others leave you unmotivated.


I want to ...

1. Work with very little supervision

2. Not depend on the work of others


     

0

You may prefer working in groups, and like the direction that supervision provides.

     

1

You do not mind taking direction from supervisors, but you appreciate that you have control over how you implement their suggestions.

     

2

You are happiest without close supervision; you know what you need to do, and appreciate the space to work out how to get your work done on your own.


I want to ...

1. Have enough time and energy left over at night for my family

2. Keep my weekend free for non-work activities


     

0

Your work is of primary importance. You may be willing to sacrifice other aspects of your life, at least for now, to achieve your career goals.

     

1


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Work/life balance is important to you. You'll put in the occasional weekend when necessary, but look for jobs where this is kept to a minimum.

     

2

Your commitments outside of work—whether to family, or to non-work activities—are extremely important to you. You would give up other rewards in order to safeguard your non-work time.

Assess Your Skills Types of skills As you progress through your work life, you acquire many different skills from a broad range of experiences and training. Skills fall into a number of categories, and there are different ways to describe them. Here are some examples: Skill Categories

Skill Category

Examples

Using Your

Assembling things, operating machinery,

Hands

repairing things

Using Your Body

Doing outdoor activities like camping, being physically active, having muscular coordination as in gymnastics

Using Words

Reading, writing, speaking, teaching

Using Your Five

Observing, inspecting, diagnosing

Senses

Using Numbers

Counting, computing, record-keeping

Using Intuition

Acting on "gut" reactions, anticipating future events, sizing up a situation or person

Using Analytical

Researching, analyzing, prioritizing

Thinking or Logic

Using Originality

Imagining, inventing, designing,

or Creativity

engineering

Using

Having sensitivity to others' feelings,

Helpfulness

conveying warmth, drawing others out, motivating, guiding


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Using Artistic

Fashioning or shaping things, composing,

Abilities

playing an instrument, painting,

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decorating, cooking

Using Leadership

Initiating new projects, organizing, directing, making decisions, taking risks

Using Follow-

Using what others have developed,

Through

following through on plans or instructions, attending to details, filing, retrieving information

What are your strongest skills? As you begin exploring developmental opportunities at your organization, you'll need to know which skills they require. That way, you can decide to what extent these opportunities will allow you to do the following: • Use skills you already have in abundance • Prompt you to stretch skills that you possess to some degree but would like to strengthen • Require you to obtain entirely new skills • Some combination of the above The first step, though, is to take stock of your existing skills, and to assess which ones are your strongest. There are several ways to do this, including these: • Experimenting with assessment tools, checklists, and short exercises • Asking your friends, family, and colleagues to give their opinions about what you do best • Asking a career counselor to help

Know your transferable skills Key Idea When assessing your skills, it's especially important to identify your transferable skills. These are skills that have value regardless of the business context in which you're using them. For example: • Writing • Motivating others • Organizing data • Interpreting information

Why is it important to know your transferable skills? • Knowing this information allows you to widen the selection of potentially interesting work opportunities to include all those in which you would use your transferable skills. • You can avoid the common misconception that, in order to try a new work area, you need to develop a whole new set of skills. You may realize you don't necessarily need to go back to school to develop new skills for a different opportunity. • You can market yourself to potential new supervisors in a whole new area of work by pointing out your transferable skills.

Four points about skills The work will teach you how to do it. —Estonian proverb


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In assessing your skills, keep these points in mind:

1. Skills are a "threshold" variable in your ability to do a job successfully. You need enough of a certain skill (being able to lift 50-pound bags, for example), but in many cases, having a lot more of that same skill (being able to lift 500-pound bags) won't make you any more successful. 2. It's easy to vary your skills. Compared to your core business interests and work values, your skill-set can change relatively easily. That is, you can strengthen existing skills or acquire new ones through practice, training, and new experiences. 3. It's perfectly okay to have both strengths and weaknesses. Often, when people begin exploring new positions at work, they assume that they have to be good at just about everything. The fact is, we all have both strengths and weaknesses—that's part of what makes us who we are. Don't feel bad if you lack certain skills; everyone does. 4. Weigh the benefits of developing new skills. Investing in skill development can be costly, in terms of time, effort, and money (possibly). So, when you're evaluating a potential new opportunity at work, spend some time deciding whether you want to invest in developing the skills that the opportunity requires.

Put it all together Once you've assessed your skills, the next step is to get a complete picture of who you are by combining the skills information with what you learned about your core business interests and work values. You can now use this knowledge and information to redefine your current role in order to develop yourself professionally. You can also begin evaluating the growth opportunities available at your company and pick the most appropriate ones for you. Throughout this process of gaining knowledge and information about yourself, your interests, values, and skills, remember: interests and values matter the most. When evaluating a career development opportunity, make sure that it matches your core business interests and work values. If it does, you may well decide to obtain the skills that will help you perform in that new position.

Finding Development Opportunities at Your Company Start the growth-opportunity search You've worked to identify your deepest business interests, clarify your most important work reward values, and assess your strongest skills. Maybe you've even defined a careeropportunity target. What's the next step on the path? Many companies have an explicit process in place to enable employees to explore and pursue new opportunities. For example, some organizations suggest that you visit their career-management center, review the job bank, and then follow their guidelines. Other companies ask that you first talk with your supervisor. That way, he or she can become aware of your search and help you either redefine your current role or identify potential opportunities elsewhere in the organization. Indeed, in most organizations, helping direct reports clarify their goals and find appropriate growth opportunities are important responsibilities for managers. By supporting you in this way, your manager helps the organization retain a valued employee—a key step for any company that wants to stay competitive in today's economy. You can provide the same kind of support for your direct reports.

Identifying growth opportunities in your organization People ache to do great work. —Warren Bennis There are many ways to identify potential growth opportunities throughout your company. The key is to make sure you know your company; that is: • In simplest terms, what work does the organization do? • What are your company's biggest needs and challenges? • How do you think you could contribute to your company's efforts in ways that suit your deepest interests, values, and skills?


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Find out what people do You also need to find out what kinds of work people do throughout the organization. Knowing this will give you a "big picture" of how the company functions. Gathering all this information takes some research and a willingness to get to know people who can help you. Here are four ideas to get you started:

1. Use your company's career-management resources. Many companies offer numerous ways to learn about growth opportunities. Find out what they are—and take advantage of them. These include: ◦ Career centers staffed by career counselors and career-research specialists ◦ Internal networks of people who are willing to talk with any fellow employee about their jobs ◦ Opportunities to sample different jobs by filling in for colleagues who are on sabbatical ◦ Job banks describing all the positions available in the organization ◦ Reference materials and training to help you create a professional-growth plan and hone your résumé-writing and interviewing skills ◦ In-house courses on various subjects and skills related to jobs within the company ◦ College or vocational-school tuition-reimbursement programs 2. Build your network. Networking simply means getting to know people in your organization who can help you learn about and pursue career opportunities. To become an expert networker, ask yourself: "Who knows the most about what's going on in the organization?" Then seek out opportunities to meet them and talk with them about your search. 3. Cultivate relationships with mentors. Mentors are experts from whom you can learn, in detail, about specific kinds of work and strategies for defining a career path. They can be people who work in your organization or outside your organization, members of professional associations—anyone whose experience and knowledge you respect. 4. Consult a career counselor. Many organizations have career counselors on staff who can advise you on how to spot potential development opportunities. If your organization provides this service, make an appointment. If not, consider having a couple of sessions with an independent career counselor. These professionals' services can be pricey, so be sure to shop around for the best choice for you.

Choosing the right growth opportunities Key Idea When making decisions about which growth opportunities to pursue, ask yourself the following questions: • "How good is the fit between the position and my interests, values, and skills?" • "How good is the fit between the position and who I want to become?" (That is, "What kinds of learning opportunities does this position offer me?") The best developmental assignments are ones in which the fit is imperfect—the position will "stretch" you by offering challenges that encourage you to learn new skills and acquire new knowledge. Of course, these positions carry some risk. You won't be able to make your most productive contribution right away. After all, you'll need time to learn the new dimensions of the job. The challenge is to pick an opportunity that doesn't stretch you too much or carry too great a risk. As a general rule of thumb, the risk is probably too great if it seems that you'll need more than six months to learn enough to make a meaningful contribution.

Getting the skills you need There are lots of ways to enhance your skills, including: • Onsite training • Adult-education courses


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• Distance learning • Online courses One key thing to remember, though, is that you don't always need to go back to school to make a major change in your career. Before you commit to spending a lot of money (and time) on a new degree, do some research to make sure there isn't a more affordable and less timeconsuming way to master the skills that your new position requires.

Informational interviewing Once you've identified possible development opportunities, it's time to arrange some informational interviews. You can conduct these interviews with people who are currently doing the kind of work you're interested in, or with supervisors or department or division heads who can give you valuable information about the work. Informational interviewing is less formal than actual job interviewing because it: • Gives you a chance to learn more about positions of interest • Helps you get to know potential new supervisors and other people in departments or divisions of interest • Lets you showcase your talents • May give you further insight into additional interesting positions. (Even if an interview reveals that a particular new job wouldn't work out for you, use the encounter as another networking opportunity by asking the interviewee to suggest more people for you to talk with.) The key to setting up informational interviews is to be sincere and honest when contacting potential interviewees. If you're nervous about contacting people, keep these points in mind: • You're asking for information, not a job offer. • Most people are happy to talk about their work, if you respect their time (ask for no more than 20 minutes) and clearly value the information they offer. • People are especially open to meeting with you if you've been referred to them by someone they know and respect. So, broach the subject of an interview by saying something like, "Hello, my name is _______. I'm currently working as a ______and am interested in learning about ______. My colleague ______ mentioned that you'd be a great person for me to talk with. Could I have 20 minutes of your time when it's most convenient for you?"

Tactics for early career development Personal Insight I also learned some things about how offices work and how the world of work operates. I learned that, if you ask, people are very happy to teach you what they do. In fact, they're flattered by it. There are so many opportunities to learn just by asking questions; you don't have to wait until opportunities come to you. That lesson stood me in good stead for the rest of my career, because practically everything I know about business I learned by asking practicing managers to teach me what they did; in essence, to tell me what they did. I learned that, when you ask questions, people are extremely flattered and will give you anything and do anything. I also learned another important lesson: you could talk your way out of a dead-end job by being interested and by wanting to make a contribution. Companies should provide more opportunities for people to comment on their work. They should engage in dialog, make suggestions, find out what people's aspirations are and give them a development path to reach those aspirations. Companies should spend more time developing their people; I think they should give people an opportunity to rotate, to learn each other's jobs, to work as a team. When they do that, not only will they find a hidden talent; they will also find people who have the confidence to succeed. People should not just wait for opportunities to unfold in their career; the ambitious individuals are those that voraciously ask questions and take a proactive interest in the wider business. Such curiosity can bring valuable learning and opportunities. Rosabeth Moss Kanter Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School Rosabeth Moss Kanter is a renowned Harvard Business School professor (holding the Ernest L. Arbuckle Chair) and best-selling author whose strategic and practical insights have guided leaders of large and small organizations for over 25 years. The former Editor of Harvard Business Review (1989 – 1992) and a consultant to major corporations and governments worldwide on issues of strategy, innovation and leadership for change, she has been named to lists of the "50 most powerful women in the world" (Times of London), placed in the top 10 on the annual list of the "50 most influential business thinkers in the world" (Accenture and Thinkers 50), and called one of the 9 "rock stars of business" (American Way).


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She is the author or co-author of 16 books, with translations into 17 languages. Her latest bestseller, Confidence: How Winning Streaks & Losing Streaks Begin & End (#1 Business Week and New York Times business bestseller), describes the culture and dynamics of perpetually successful organizations compared with those in decline and how to lead turnarounds, whether in business, health care, education, sports, community organizations or countries. Her classic prizewinning book, Men & Women of the Corporation, was a source of insight to countless individuals and organizations about corporate careers and the individual and organizational factors that can load the situation for success; a spin-off cartoon video, A Tale of 'O': On Being Different, is among the world's most widely-used diversity tools; and a related book, Work & Family in the United States, set a policy agenda (in 2001, a coalition of centers created the Rosabeth Moss Kanter Award for the best research on that issue). Her award-winning book, When Giants Learn to Dance, showed many companies worldwide the way to master the new terms of competition at the dawn of the global information age.

Activity: Identify next steps

Martin has worked as a technical support representative at a large consumer electronics company for a little over a year. He studied electrical enginee

What should be Martin's next step in developing his career?

     

Seek out opportunities in other departments within his company

Correct choice. Martin has made a very positive impression at his current company; however, he is currently working for a department that doesn't offer much advancement and doesn't take advantage of his particular talents. He might see if a transfer to the design or development departments would be possible.

     

Seek opportunities outside the company

Not the best choice. Martin has generated a lot of positive feedback at his current company. Before looking for jobs outside the company, he ought to see if he can capitalize on this positive feedback by finding new job opportunities within his current company.

     

Position himself for advancement within his current department

Not the best choice. Martin's current department, technical support, doesn't appear to offer work that fully satisfies Martin's personal career goals.

Glory is a sales representative for a food and beverage supply company. She is good at her job, though she had always imagined herself working in re

What should be Glory's next step in developing her career?

     

Speak with her manager about the misfit between her current job and her deepest professional goals

Not the best choice. Before Glory begins a discussion with her supervisor, she should take some time to consider what types of positions will satisfy her professional interests. Perhaps a different role in her current company, for example acting as a consultant, or heading up a new product line, would be appropriate.

     


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Conduct informational interviews with restaurant and hotel management professionals outside the company

Correct choice. Since Glory works as a sales representative for a food and beverage supply company, she has many contacts within the restaurant or hotel business. Through informational interviews with some of these individuals, she will be better able to assess where her true professional interests lie.

     

Talk to her supervisor about becoming a sales manager

Not the best choice. Although, with her positive record, Glory could begin moving to a position of prominence within her current department, it is not clear that this would satisfy her own career goals.

Sandip has a college degree in sales and marketing. He has worked for two years for the marketing department of a major pharmaceutical company. H

What should be Sandip's next step in developing his career?

     

Identify all the departments in the company that might be able to offer him an entry-level management position

Not the best choice. Sandip's current job seems to be a good fit with his interests, while it is not clear that being a manager is something that he would actually enjoy. If he were interested in a management role, he should first consider what types of management opportunities might exist within the marketing communications field.

     

Seek opportunities outside the company to work on the design of marketing materials

Not the best choice. Sandip's current position seems to suit him well. Before seeking opportunities outside the company, he might first clarify his interests in graphic design and then explore what types of opportunities might be available in his current company.

     

Identify what skills he needs to develop to advance within the marketing department

Correct choice. Sandip's career goals seem well-served at his current position, so he should see what advancement opportunities are available to him there. In particular, he might explore what skills would help him assume more responsibility for the design and development of marketing materials.

Helping Others Manage Their Careers Helping others works both ways Every time someone helps someone else—through networking, informational interviewing, and so forth—that person becomes willing to help others in turn. So by helping others, you become part of a constant, informal networking process—a natural web of people who are willing to provide and receive help. For example, one day, someone in a different department from yours asks you if you know of any good engineers they could talk to. You do, and you give that person a few names. Months later, you might run across the same person and realize that he or she could help you by recommending, say, some marketing specialists you could talk to.


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Put your organization first! The sole meaning of life is to serve humanity. —Leo Tolstoy Just as your colleagues can help you clarify your professional goals and identify growth opportunities in your company, you can do the same for your direct reports or colleagues. In fact, by supporting them in this way, you're doing what's best for your organization. When you help your direct reports find stimulation and satisfaction in their work, you put your organization first—in two ways:

1. You encourage talented, ambitious people to stay with the company—so the organization retains valuable employees. You thus support your firm in its efforts to build a stronger work force. 2. You help the organization cut costs. After all, finding, hiring, and training replacements is expensive.

Speak the language of interests, values, and skills To support your direct reports' professional goals, you have to become aware of those goals. An excellent way to become—and stay—aware is to have regular "Professional Development Reviews" (PDRs) with each of your direct reports. Try making PDRs part of performance reviews, or conduct them separately. Whichever way you decide to schedule PDRs, make sure you frame the discussion in terms of core business interests, work reward values, and skills. This focuses the meeting and helps you both talk in specific terms about the person's goals.

Help others identify opportunities in your organization You can help direct reports search for opportunities in several ways: • Redefine a current role: Consider redefining a current role so that it better matches the person's interests, values, and skills. • Help them network: Identify individuals in the company who you think could provide growth opportunities, guidance, insight, and even more networking opportunities. Offer strategies for meeting those individuals, or help to arrange meetings. • Evaluate options: Once you and your direct report have identified possible opportunities, help him or her evaluate their fit and learning potential. Again, use the language of interests, values, and skills in discussing an opportunity's potential.

Reward managers for helping others Do you supervise managers who have direct reports? If so, you can reinforce the message that helping others manage their professional development is something your company values. How? By rewarding managers who excel at this responsibility. Consider: • Evaluating your managers' success in this area as a regular part of performance reviews • Tying compensation to their performance in developing the career of their direct reports

Frequently Asked Questions Are core business interests determined when you're young and do they remain unchanged throughout your life? They're generally determined by your early 20s. By that time, there's a discernible pattern, and the basic contours of that pattern remain remarkably stable. How were the eight core business interests developed? They were developed from analysis of hundreds of people's responses on tests about their interests at work. The core interests describe fundamental, essential activities of business work. What's the most common mistake people make in thinking about their careers?


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The most common mistake is basing career decisions on what you think you should do, or what you can do—not on what most interests or moves you. This is an easy trap to fall into. What are some easy ways for people to identify their core business interests? You can perform active-imagination exercises, in which you reflect on what kinds of work have most inspired you or captured your attention in the past. You can also flip through six months' worth of issues of Business Week or Fortune and pay attention to what kinds of articles, advertisements, and so on, most draw your attention. Look especially for the difference between feeling that you have to turn your attention to a particular topic versus feeling that a topic pulls your attention. Can a person have more than one core business interest? Yes. Often, a person will have two or three main interests, with perhaps one of them most dominant. How have attitudes toward work and career changed? There's been a change in the idea of what a job is. Many people don't use the word job anymore; instead, they use work opportunities. More and more, there aren't jobs per se, as in, "Here's your job, your title, and your desk, and you'll probably be here for five years." Now, it's, "We've got a problem or a project, you've got a skill set and a background that can help us. When it's done, we'll have a conversation, and maybe there will be other problems you can help us with. And maybe there won't." The duration of the work opportunity is therefore project duration. This is true not just for freelancers but also for full-time employees. You may remain an employee for a long time, but your responsibilities may change regularly. This is also true for employees of any age—not just 25-year-olds. What proportion of people find satisfying work? It's an ongoing search for everyone these days. People do find it, but we all have to keep refining our concept of it and moving toward it. Even though our core business interests remain stable over time, the opportunities to express them depend on economic and other situations that are constantly changing. So, you've got to frequently reengage with the change process. How can people broach the subject of career change with their immediate supervisors if their supervisors don't want to lose them? The best way is to frame the discussion in terms of "job sculpting": how you can redefine your current role so that it better matches your core business interests, work reward values, and skills. Also, come prepared with solutions for handling the ramifications of any change. For example, if you want to let go of certain responsibilities, how do you suggest they would be handled? If there's simply no opportunity to redefine your role, explore other opportunities within the company. In firms that emphasize retention, your supervisor will be rewarded for helping good employees find new opportunities inside the company. If I contact people to request an informational interview or a networking discussion, won't they think that I'm just trying to use them? No—not if you're sincere and you respect their time. Be sure to show them that you appreciate the information they're sharing. Remember: You're not so much asking for a job as you're asking for information. Most people enjoy talking about their work. Explain that someone else whom the person knows and respects recommended him or her as an excellent person for you to talk with, and ask for just 20 minutes of the person's time. It seems that required skills are always changing. How can I get the skills I need to keep moving forward in my career? Many people automatically assume that they have to go back to school to get a degree in order to acquire new skills. That's absolutely not true. Continuing education classes are one less time-consuming and less expensive alternative. But there are lots of other ways to learn, too—such as job shadowing, "stretch" assignments at work, seminars, video or audio tapes, books, newsletters, online or distance learning, volunteering opportunities, and so on. The key is to assess your options and pick the best ones for your learning style and your skill needs as well as for your budget and schedule. Everyone's so busy at my company that no one seems to know what's going on in departments other than their own. How can I find out about work opportunities under these conditions? You can start talking with people from other departments, to find out what kinds of work they do, what the culture is like in those departments, and so forth. Also, try asking to be invited to meetings that you normally might not think of attending. And, take advantage of all the companywide events and learning opportunities that your firm offers. That's a great way to simply start getting to know people and learning more about how the company operates. From there, you can begin identifying opportunities and drawing on the network of people you've established for information. Will my work reward values change much over the years? They will probably change somewhat, depending on the different phases of life you go through. For example, if you're starting a family, financial security and opportunities for long-term saving might become your top reward value. If you're just starting out in the work world, opportunities to travel might be your most important value. Reward values are more changeable than core business interests, but less


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changeable than skills—which employees often must update rapidly in order to keep contributing to their organizations and charting their own career paths.

Scenario Part 1 Part 1 Carly has been manager of new business development for ZyMold for five years. One evening after a long day, she gets together with Tonya, a friend who has recently changed jobs. Carly finds herself feeling envious as Tonya excitedly describes her new position. Carly mentions that she recently received a raise and retention bonus, but she just isn't as enthusiastic about her work as she once was. She tells Tonya that, although she likes her team, she senses that something's missing from her work life. She wonders aloud whether she just needs a vacation.

What advice should Tonya give Carly?

• "It sounds like you need to take a close look at how you feel about your job. Maybe the work just isn't a good fit anymore."

Correct choice. Carly should respond to signals that it may be time to assess how well her current work fits her interests, values, and abilities. The signals can differ for each person, but common indications that it's time for a change include: envy of what others are doing in their careers, restlessness or boredom, a general lack of enthusiasm or energy, and a sense of repetition at work.

• "Why don't you talk with some friends in other companies to see if you might want to change jobs? You know, schedule some informational interviews."

Not the best choice. Before arranging informational interviews—conversations with people in various fields to learn more about career options—Carly should gain a solid understanding of her own interests, values, and abilities. By clarifying these matters first, she can then take a more focused approach to informational interviews and use her—and her interviewees'—time more effectively.

• "Sometimes you just need to take a break, even from a good situation. A vacation might be a great way to clarify your thinking."

Not the best choice. The beneficial effects of a vacation won't last long if Carly is in fact ready to move on. Indeed, if she's deeply dissatisfied or bored with her current responsibilities, she may return from vacation feeling even more dissatisfied. She needs to combine any break from work with thinking about her career and possible next steps.

Part 2 Part 2 Carly has taken Tonya's advice and begun thinking about her lack of enthusiasm for her job. She decides to assess how well her current role fits her work interests and preferences. As a first step toward generating insights, she creates a record of her observations about and experiences with work.

How should Carly go about creating and using this record?

• Carly should list all her past educational and work experiences—as far back as she can remember—and look for patterns in these experiences.


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Not the best choice. Listing past educational and work experiences may help Carly review what she has already accomplished, but it doesn't help her focus on her deepest business interests—enduring preferences that constitute the most important criteria for choosing a job. Everyone has different business interests, which may range from working with technology or numbers, generating theories, or creating something new to helping others, setting direction for a team, or persuading others.

• Carly should keep a running list of things she likes and dislikes about her own and other people's work responsibilities or environments and identify common themes among the listed items.

Correct choice. Carly's record should consist of a private, running list of what she likes and doesn't like about her job or work environment. The entries could be about her job or other people's work, and about tasks, relationships, or the work environment itself. These might range from simple, such as "I need to work near a window," to more complex, such as "I can't stand working alone for long periods of time." Honesty is key in creating such a record. Carly should see what themes emerge—and what they tell her about her core business interests (such as helping others or applying technology to business problems) and work-reward values (such as work environment, financial gain, job security, prestige, or intellectual challenge).

• Carly should list all her skills, then list jobs that would require her skills. She should also identify which skills are "transferable"—useful across a wide range of work.

Not the best choice. Assessing skills is important, but only after Carly has identified her core business interests and values. When people focus on skills too early in their career management efforts, they often mistakenly conclude that they should "do what they're good at." But doing what you're good at won't keep you satisfied in any job if the work doesn't also let you express your core business interests and provide the rewards that mean the most to you.

Part 3 Part 3 Carly has assessed her core business interests, values, and abilities and has identified a few gaps between them and her current role at ZyMold. She decides to learn whether other kinds of work—for example, new business development focusing on the Internet—may better fit her preferences and skills. Carly likes the culture at ZyMold, so she wants to explore the possibility of either moving to a different role within the company or working with her supervisor to redefine her existing role for a better fit. However, to maintain her confidentiality during this early exploratory stage, she arranges several informational interviews with people who do Internet business development at other companies.

Which question should Carly ask during an informational interview?

• "Do you currently have any openings in your group for which I might be qualified?"

Not the best choice. Carly should not use informational interviews to ask for a job or to pressure the interviewee into assessing her skills. Rather, she should focus on learning about the work in question. When arranging an informational interview, she should specify that she's looking for information—not a job.

• "What do you find most and least enjoyable about this work?"


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Good choice. Questions about job specifics are important during informational interviewing. Additional questions about job specifics might include: "What's a typical day like for you? What talents or skills are most crucial to success in this work? What attitudes or values are important?"

• "What are the key trends and typical salaries for this type of work?"

Good choice. Questions about job specifics are important during informational interviewing. Additional questions about job specifics might include: "What's a typical day like for you? What talents or skills are most crucial to success in this work? What attitudes or values are important?"

Conclusion Conclusion To find enduring satisfaction in your work, identify your core business interests first, and then your values and abilities. You want to find work that aligns with your deepest business interests. Recording your observations about and experiences with work is a good first step to identifying your preferences and values. Informational interviews can eventually help you clarify a possible new career direction. In today's world, business professionals need to take responsibility for managing their own careers. This requires knowing when it's time to explore new work opportunities, and taking the initiative to make changes in their work life.

Check Your Knowledge Question 1

What three self-knowledge areas are the most important in defining and navigating your career path?

• Your five-year goals, family values, and financial needs

Not the best choice. Though five-year goals, family values, and financial needs play a role in your career planning, they are not the most important self-knowledge areas for defining and navigating your career path. The correct answer is "Your core business interests, work values, and skills." By understanding what business activities interest you, what workplace rewards you value most, and what you do best, you can define your professional goals.

• Your core business interests, work values, and skills

Correct choice. These three self-knowledge areas together form the basis for guiding your career. By understanding what business activities interest you, what workplace rewards you value most, and what you do best, you can define your professional goals.

• Your short- and long-term goals, core business interests, and skills

Not the best choice. Core business interests and skills are two of the three self-knowledge areas most important in defining and navigating your career path, but the third one is your core business interests, not short- and long-term goals. By understanding what business activities interest you, what workplace rewards you value most, and what you do best, you can define your professional goals.

Question 2

What are the three main information sources for knowing yourself?


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• Yourself, others (colleagues, friends, and family), and assessment tools

Correct choice. By getting to know your core business interests, work reward values, and skills through self-reflection exercises; by collecting feedback from colleagues, friends, and family; and by using any of the available assessment tools, you compile a powerful body of knowledge that will let you define and pursue the best career opportunities for you.

• Your boss, your night-time dreams, and a group-therapy program

Not the best choice. These information sources omit one especially important source—you!—that you can mine by trying self-reflection and active-imagination exercises, among other methods.

• Your family, your friends, and your career counselor

Not the best choice. These information sources omit one especially important source—you!—that you can mine by trying self-reflection and active-imagination exercises, among other methods.

Question 3

Who is most responsible for management of your career?

• Your supervisor

Not the best choice. Because of dramatic changes in the world of work, employees themselves have had to take charge of their own professional development instead of expecting their supervisors to do so. The traditional unspoken "contract" between organizations and workers—by which managers took responsibility for their direct reports' employability—no longer exists at many companies.

• Your company overall (including its career-resources department, if it has one)

Not the best choice. Because of dramatic changes in the world of work, employees' themselves have had to take charge of their own professional development instead of expecting their companies to do so. The traditional unspoken "contract" between organizations and workers—by which the company took responsibility for individuals' employability—no longer exists at many organizations.

• You

Correct choice. The business world has experienced enormous, rapidly accelerating changes. The traditional unspoken contract between employer and employee—in which companies took responsibility for employees' career paths—no longer exists at many companies. Therefore, each of us is responsible for managing our own professional development.

Question 4

Of your core business interests, work values, and skills, which one area is the most important in identifying appropriate growth opportunities at work?


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• Core business interests

Correct choice. If you're not passionately interested in your work, you'll soon get bored or "burn out"—no matter how good you are at your job or how much it offers the rewards you value the most.

• Work values

Not the best choice. Work values are important, but they're not as stable over time as core business interests. Therefore, it's your core business interests that are most important in identifying appropriate growth opportunities at work. If your work doesn't satisfy your deepest passions, you'll soon get bored or "burn out"—no matter how good you are at your job or how much it offers the rewards you value the most.

• Skills

Not the best choice. Skills are important, but they're not as stable over time as core business interests. Therefore, it's your core business interests that are most important in identifying appropriate growth opportunities at work. If your work doesn't satisfy your deepest passions, you'll soon get bored or "burn out"—no matter how good you are at your job or how much it offers the rewards you value the most.

Question 5

Which of the following are the most important benefits of your taking charge of your own career?

• You're guaranteed to earn more money and get promoted.

Not the best choice. Taking charge of your own career doesn't necessarily guarantee that you'll earn more money and get promoted. Instead, the key benefits of your taking charge of your career are that you find more satisfaction in your work. When you're more satisfied at work, you perform better and feel more committed to your job and organization—which also helps your company.

• Your company doesn't have to invest in a career center.

Not the best choice. Taking charge of your own career doesn't necessarily mean that your company won't invest in a career center. Instead, the key benefits of your taking charge of your career are that you find more satisfaction in your work. When you're more satisfied at work, you perform better and feel more committed to your job and organization—which also helps your company.

• You find more satisfaction in your work and become a more valuable employee for your company.

Correct choice. When you manage your own career, you help yourself derive more satisfaction from your work. When you're more satisfied at work, you perform better and feel more committed to your job and organization—which also helps your company.

Question 6


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Which of the following are examples of the eight core business functions that let you express your deepest work interests?

• Enterprise Control, Influence Through Language and Ideas, and Using Your Intuition

Not the best choice. Though Enterprise Control as well as Influence Through Language and Ideas are two of the eight core business functions, Using Your Intuition is not. The eight core business interests are: (1) Application of Technology; (2) Quantitative Analysis; (3) Theory Development and Conceptual Thinking; (4) Creative Production; (5) Counseling and Mentoring; (6) Managing People and Relationships; (7) Enterprise Control; and (8) Influence Through Language and Ideas. Core business interests are not hobbies or topical enthusiasms. Rather, they're long-held, emotionally driven passions. They derive from your personality and influence the kinds of activities that make you happy.

• Application of Technology, Counseling and Mentoring, and Enterprise Control

Correct choice. All three of these functions let you express your deepest work interests. Core business interests are not hobbies or topical enthusiasms. Rather, they're long-held, emotionally driven passions. They derive from your personality and influence the kinds of activities that make you happy. The eight core business interests are: (1) Application of Technology; (2) Quantitative Analysis; (3) Theory Development and Conceptual Thinking; (4) Creative Production; (5) Counseling and Mentoring; (6) Managing People and Relationships; (7) Enterprise Control; and (8) Influence Through Language and Ideas.

• Understanding Spreadsheets, Giving Inspiring Speeches, and Managing Work/Life Balance

Not the best choice. None of these functions are examples of the eight core business functions. The eight core business interests are: (1) Application of Technology; (2) Quantitative Analysis; (3) Theory Development and Conceptual Thinking; (4) Creative Production; (5) Counseling and Mentoring; (6) Managing People and Relationships; (7) Enterprise Control; and (8) Influence Through Language and Ideas. Core business interests are not hobbies or topical enthusiasms. Rather, they're long-held, emotionally driven passions. They derive from your personality and influence the kinds of activities that make you happy.

Question 7

Decide whether the following statement is true or false: To better match your work with your core business interests, values, and skills, you can collaborate with your supervisor to redefine your current role.

• True

Correct choice. Always start by assuming that you can redefine your current role to better suit you. If you're a high performer, your supervisor will likely be glad to support your efforts in this area. After all, he or she will get to keep you rather than lose you to another position in the company.

• False


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Not the best choice. This statement is actually true. Always assume that you can redefine your current role to better suit you. Especially if you're a high performer, your supervisor will likely be glad to support your efforts in this area. After all, he or she will get to keep you rather than lose you to another position in the company.

Question 8

Which of the following metaphors best captures the nature of career development today as opposed to earlier times?

• A lattice versus a ladder

Correct choice. A lattice conveys the idea that professional development opportunities now exist at all levels and in all departments within most organizations. You can move freely among them, depending on which opportunities best suit you and your organization.

• A bicycle versus a pogo stick

Not the best choice. A bicycle suggests forward motion versus the up-and-down motion of a pogo stick; thus, it doesn't accurately capture the nature of career development today as opposed to earlier times. Career development has changed from a "ladder" approach (climbing your way to the top of your career) to a "lattice" approach (moving freely and creatively among opportunities at all levels and in all departments of your organization).

• A moored rowboat versus a ship tossing on the ocean

Not the best choice. A moored boat suggests the notion of arriving safely and permanently at your career destination versus tossing about in a vast ocean; thus, it doesn't accurately capture the nature of career development today as opposed to earlier times. Career development has changed from a "ladder" approach (climbing your way to the top of your career) to a "lattice" approach (moving freely and creatively among opportunities at all levels and in all departments of your organization).

Question 9

The best developmental opportunities in your organization:

• Perfectly match your interests, values, and skills

Not the best choice. Finding something that perfectly matches your interests, values, and skills won't help you "stretch"—that is, attain new skills and knowledge. You want development opportunities to help you hone new skills and acquire new knowledge—that's what makes work more satisfying to you, and you more valuable to your company. But don't pick an assignment that stretches you too much: A good rule of thumb is that if you think it will take you more than six months to deliver excellent performance in the new role, the assignment probably will be too much of a stretch.

• "Stretch" you by offering challenges that encourage you to learn new skills and knowledge

Correct choice. You want development opportunities to help you hone new skills and acquire new knowledge—that's what makes work more satisfying to you, and you more valuable to your company. But don't pick an assignment that stretches you too much: A good rule of thumb is that if you think it will take you more than six months to deliver excellent performance in the new role, the assignment probably will be too much of a stretch.


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• Force you to try work that you know nothing about

Not the best choice. Trying your hand at work you know nothing about won't help you "stretch"—that is, attain new skills and knowledge. You want development opportunities to help you hone new skills and acquire new knowledge—that's what makes work more satisfying to you, and you more valuable to your company. But don't pick an assignment that stretches you too much: A good rule of thumb is that if you think it will take you more than six months to deliver excellent performance in the new role, the assignment probably will be too much of a stretch.

Question 10

Decide whether the following statement is true or false: To obtain the skills you need to perform in a new position, you must go back to school and earn a degree.

• True

Not the best choice. This statement is actually false. There are many other ways to gain new skills besides going back to school. These include volunteering, reading magazines, job sharing, and so forth—steps that don't require the time and expense of getting a new degree.

• False

Correct choice. There are many other ways to gain new skills besides going back to school. These include volunteering, reading magazines, job sharing, and so forth—steps that don't require the time and expense of getting a new degree.

Steps Steps for clarifying your work reward values

1. Write all the work reward values you can think of on index cards, one value per card. No list can be exhaustive, so feel free to add as many values as you think are important in selecting the right development opportunities for yourself. Workplace values could include:

◦ An environment of openness, camaraderie, and friendliness ◦ Access to experts in the industry ◦ Benefits such as child or elder care ◦ Forms of compensation such as stock options, pension plans, and profit sharing ◦ Scheduling options such as flex-time, telecommuting, and sabbaticals 2. On each card, write a short statement about what that value means to you. Values are highly abstract and can mean different things to different people, depending on a person's culture, personality, family background, and so forth.


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For example, one person's idea of work/life balance might be working no more than 40 hours a week. Another person's idea of work/life balance might be working up to 60 hours a week but having time on the weekends to spend with family.

3. Scatter the index cards on a table. 4. Arrange the cards in order of importance. If two or more values seem equally important to you, place them side by side. If you decide that a value has no real importance to you after all, set that card aside.

5. Note the order you've settled on. Don't worry about which values seem to be "rising to the surface" at this point, or whether you're having trouble deciding which of two seemingly equally important values should come first. Just make a mental or written note that summarizes what you see happening at this stage.

6. Set the stack of cards aside for a week or two. 7. Revisit the exercise to see if anything has shifted. Repeat the process until you feel confident that your hierarchy of cards accurately reflects your work values. For example, suppose you do the exercise five times, and each time "affiliation" (working with colleagues you like, respect, and admire) ends up being in one of the top three positions in your card hierarchy. You can feel fairly confident that this is one of your most important values.

8. Think of your top three or four values as your "shopping list" when you're considering new developmental opportunities.

Steps for defining your career target

1. Review what you've discovered about your core business interests, your work reward values, and your skills in other parts of this topic. Use the information and the exercises in the Learn section of this topic, as well as the various tools and tips in this topic, to strengthen your knowledge of your core business interests, values, and skills. Remember: Keep thinking about these three aspects in that order of importance. For example, to show you how defining a career target might work, we'll begin with a very simplified example here (for a fictitious person named Moira) that we'll carry through the rest of the steps.

Note: Defining your own career target would involve more complex and numerous responses in some of the steps that follow. Moira is currently working as a budget analyst. But she has discovered that she loves being in charge of projects (Enterprise Control) and motivating other people (Influence through Language and Ideas). Her most important work reward values are the ability to work flexible hours; the opportunity to work for a small, growing start-up or a relatively autonomous department within a large organization; and access to state-of -the-art technology at work. Her strongest skills are speaking and writing persuasively, organizing large volumes of varied data, and juggling many projects at once without losing track or missing deadlines.

2. List and describe the career opportunities at your organization. Don't feel that you have to write down every single career opportunity that's available throughout your organization. But be more inclusive rather than less: List all those that you think would even remotely appeal to you. For example, Moira would like to strengthen her ability to develop "big-picture" strategies and mobilize support for them among employees. So, she writes down opportunities such as: "Lead new-product design department to ensure that the department creates high-quality products on spec and on time," "Design and direct innovative marketing campaigns that address changes in competition and consumer trends and that put our products at the forefront of the market," "Communicate the company's overall strategy throughout the organization through newsletters and companywide meetings," and so forth.

3. Draw three concentric circles. That is, draw a large circle on a piece of paper. Within that large circle, draw a somewhat smaller circle. (Make the second circle small enough so that you have room to write in between the two circles.) Within that somewhat smaller circle, draw another circle. That central, smallest circle is your career "bull's-eye."


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4. Identify the opportunities that match your core business interests. Look for opportunities that offer you a chance to express your core interests. For example, in our fictitious example, Moira decides to write down all three opportunities that she identified in Step 2, because they all, in some way, involve being in charge of teams or projects, influencing others, or a combination of both.

5. In the outermost circle of your career bull's-eye, write down the opportunities you identified in Step 4. (This outermost circle is your core-interests circle.) 6. In your core-interests circle, underline or highlight those opportunities that also match your most important work reward values. For example, through networking and a few informational interviews, Moira discovers that the "Communicating the company's overall strategy throughout the organization through newsletters and companywide meetings" position requires not only strict adherence to a 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. schedule but also frequent overtime with little warning. But the other two opportunities she identified in Step 2 offer flexible schedules, and match her other important values. So she underlines them.

7. Copy the opportunities you underlined in Step 6 into the next inner circle. (This next inner circle is your important-values circle.) 8. Now underline or highlight those opportunities in your important-values circle that also match the skills you now possess or skills that you could obtain relatively easily. Don't worry if your skills don't exactly match those required by the opportunities you've now narrowed down. Why? Two reasons:

◦ Skills are a lot easier to change than core business interests or work reward values. ◦ It's most important that an opportunity match your interests; if it doesn't, you won't remain happy in that position for very long— no matter how good you are at it! For example, Moira finds out that "Designing and directing innovative marketing campaigns that address changes in competition and consumer trends and that put our products at the forefront of the market" requires proven experience in writing marketing and advertising copy. She does not have skill or experience in this area and is not interested in developing it. However, "Leading the new-product design department to ensure that the department creates high-quality products on spec and on time" sounds more promising: It requires knowledge of basic product design, which Moira can learn by taking a continuing-education course that the company will pay for. She also finds the idea of learning about product design interesting and exciting. Finally, it requires her other existing, strongest skills, too. So, she underlines that opportunity in her importantvalues circle.

9. Copy the opportunities you underlined in Step 8 into the centermost circle. Bull's-eye! You've now defined your career target: work that matches your core business interests, your most important work reward values, and your skills. For example, Moira's career bull's-eye is "Leading the new-product design department to ensure that the department creates high-quality products on spec and on time." It matches her core business interests and most important work reward values. It also requires a skill that she's interested in developing—and is able to develop affordably through the help of her company.

Steps for defining and obtaining new skills

1. Identify what you need to learn and why you need to learn it. There are different kinds of skills, and understanding which kind you want to develop and why will shape the rest of the skillsdevelopment process. The various kinds of skills include:

◦ Functional, transferable skills such as clear writing or speaking, working with numbers, and motivating people. ◦ Task-oriented skills such as writing a computer program in C++, assembling a particular consumer product, and using a desktop -publishing software package. ◦ Personal skills (also called self-management skills) such as being organized, juggling many tasks at once, and remaining calm during times of chaos.


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◦ Interpersonal skills such as the ability to lead a discussion, negotiate, inspire teamwork (some of these will also be transferable from one job to another). ◦ Industry-specific skills which are required for performance of a particular job (some may be entry level and required, while others may be advanced and more dependent on experience or certification). Ask yourself why you want to learn particular skills. For example:

◦ You're interested in exploring work that's very different from what you're doing now. Therefore, by assessing your transferable skills, you can identify skills you could use in this job, and only seek training on additional, necessary job-specific skills. ◦ You need particular task-oriented skills to begin contributing immediately in a highly technical new job. ◦ You need to learn the skill, such as project-management, to perform better in your current or future position.

2. Select the ways you want to learn. In completing this step, cast your net wide! You've got many different options for learning at your disposal—in addition to the more commonly known ones such as going back to school. Also, different people learn best through different learning channels and materials. Think about which channels and materials work best for you. For example:

◦ Home-study courses ◦ Direct observation of someone else ◦ Internships ◦ Informational interviews ◦ Volunteer work ◦ Audio- and videotapes ◦ Films ◦ Books, newsletters, and trade journals ◦ Distance-learning options, such as online courses ◦ Seminars or workshops 3. Conduct research to identify specific learning options. With this step, you specify how you'll acquire the skills you're interested in. This requires some work—but it's well worth the effort. Try exploring these resources:

◦ Internal training resources, if your organization has them ◦ Recommendations from training manager, peers, supervisor, others ◦ Online subject search for courses and materials ◦ Professional association resources, if you are a member ◦ Career centers ◦ Your local library ◦ Adult-education centers ◦ Community colleges


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◦ University extension offices ◦ Bookstores You can also try associations, such as these:

◦ The American Association for Adult and Continuing Education ◦ The American Management Association ◦ Professional associations (such as the American Marketing Association and the Society for Human Resource Management) ◦ American Society for Training and Development Many of these associations offer great courses for members and nonmembers.

4. Analyze your learning options. Now that you've identified the skills you want to develop and have researched how you might acquire them, it's time to assess the relative merits of the various options. Evaluate each option you're considering according to the following criteria:

◦ Quality of instruction (which you can judge by asking people who have taken that particular training before) ◦ Cost ◦ Time required ◦ Other variables important to you, such as location, convenience, and delivery method, including online alternatives Weigh these factors and decide which options best meet your requirements and situation.

5. Develop a training strategy and schedule. Clarify how and by when you'll acquire the skills. For example, you can use a form like the one shown below, or incorporate this into a more complete Individual Development Plan.

Skill Acquisition Form

Skills to

How?

Acquire

By When?

Writing

Take adult-education night class Fall 2001

computer

from local vocational school.

programs in C++

Managing stress Take online course on stress

End of

management and discuss tactics

next

with a group of colleagues.

week

Steps for preparing for an informational interview

1. Think of three to five individuals who are currently doing the kind of work you're interested in.


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2. Contact them (by phone, by e-mail, or in person). If you already know the people in these positions, contact them (by phone or e-mail) and set up appointments. If you don't, ask people you do know to refer you. In other words, take advantage of your existing networks. In this case, when you make the phone call, mention that "Thomas" or "Maria" (whom they know and respect) suggested that the person is an outstanding resource whom you should talk to. Don't feel shy or timid when contacting someone you don't know. Remember: When you conduct an informational interview, your primary goal is to gain information—not necessarily a job offer. When you're contacting people, you're flattering them by soliciting their expert opinions. Many people are happy to talk about their work and to be consulted as experts if you respect their time (that is, ask for no more than 20 minutes) and make use of the insights they share. If you're still a bit nervous about asking for an informational interview, here's a possible template to use: "Hi, Marshall. My name's Pierre Juneau. I'm currently working as a systems analyst but would like to learn more about financial analysis. My colleague Mamta Chodhuri told me that you would be a great person for me to talk with. Can you give me 20 minutes of your time to help me understand what work in this area is like?"

3. Set a time and meeting place for an appointment. Consider inviting informational interviewees to lunch. This approach has two benefits:

◦ Your interviewees' time is valuable. If you interview them at their place of work, you're more apt to be taking them away from their duties—which may make it more difficult for them to agree to an interview. ◦ It's good form. You're asking them to give you something (information). It's only right that you give them something, too (lunch). Consider the lunch a token of your appreciation for their valuable time and vital information. But don't be put off if they decline a lunch offer. They may prefer to meet in their own office, where they can better control the time they spend.

4. Prepare a list of questions that you'd like to ask the interviewee. These can range from "What do you/don't you like most about your work?" and "What's an average day like for you?" to "How is the 'game' played in this area of work? How do you get to the top?" and "What do you see as the department's biggest challenge?" Make your own list using questions that are important to you.

Steps for sculpting your job

1. Look at the career "bull's-eye" you created in Steps for defining your career target. You defined your career target by narrowing down all the opportunities available at your company to those that best match:

◦ Your core business interests ◦ Your most important work reward values ◦ Those skills you already possess or can develop relatively easily 2. Ask yourself, "Where is the mismatch between my job and the kinds of opportunities that are in my career target?" Divide a piece of paper into three columns. Write "Interests" at the top of the left-hand column, "Values" at the top of the middle column, and "Skills" at the top of the right-hand column. Write down every area you can think of in which your current role does not suit your core interests, values, and/or skills.

3. Try to think of ways to reshape your current role so that it more closely matches your core business interests, work reward values, and skills. 4. Talk with your supervisor about redefining your current role so as to get a better match. When you meet with your supervisor, keep the following tips in mind:

◦ Start by stating the reason that you want to brainstorm ways to sculpt your job: Your current role doesn't suit you as well as it could because ________. (Remember to use the language of core interests, values, and skills.)


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◦ If possible, be ready to offer solutions and ideas for reshaping your current role so that it's a better match for you and your organization. (Don't just bring a problem; bring a problem and a solution.) Your solutions should include explanations of who will handle any responsibilities you want to let go. ◦ Remember that you're in charge of your career management. It's up to you to "sell" the idea of change to your supervisor. Explain to him or her how sculpting your job not only benefits you; it also benefits your supervisor and your organization overall.

Tips Tips for choosing the right developmental opportunities • Clarify your core business interests, reward values, and skills before you do anything else. • Evaluate how well various development opportunities match those interests, values, and skills. • If an opportunity closely matches your interests and values, it could be an excellent next move for you. If you lack one or more of the skills that it requires, consider how you might develop it. • Think long term—that is, several career moves ahead—rather than just about your next move. • Ask yourself what you need to learn in order to get where you want to go in the long run, and then— • Think about ways to gain that knowledge or experience. • Always, always beware the "siren songs"—those expectations and "pulls" that might lead you down the wrong career path (and be aware of any fears that could result in your setting your sights too low, limiting your ultimate success).

Tips for choosing a career counselor • Start with your company's internal career counselor—it's free, and he or she can help you use and interpret assessment tools, as well as define and work toward your career target. And that person knows about all the work opportunities available in your company. • If you're considering hiring an independent career counselor, ask friends for recommendations. • Clarify what you're looking for: Help taking and interpreting specific assessment tests? Tips on clarifying and working toward your work goals? Detailed information on jobs that are available in your company? • Don't be afraid to shop around: Find a career counselor whose style you're comfortable with, and who is going to encourage and support you in your professional exploration. • Ask potential career counselors—whether internal or independent—to describe their philosophy, explain what kinds of clients and questions they typically work with, and describe their successes and the methods they used to achieve them. Be leery of counselors who use the same approach (the same tests, for example) with everyone. This can indicate poor training and limited ability—in career counseling, one size doesn't fit all. • Ask for references—and then take the time to call the references to ask about their experiences with that counselor. • When considering an independent career counselor, be clear about compensation. For example, is there a charge for phone conversations? In addition to learning the hourly rate, ask what the counselor's average client usually ends up paying—the person who charges a higher hourly rate may end up costing less! • All else being equal, pick a career counselor who you think can also provide you with great networking opportunities; that is, someone who may know other people who do the kinds of work that interests you. • Be careful! In most places, anyone can call himself or herself a "career counselor" or "career coach," whether or not he or she has any training or experience! And some counseling organizations will use high-pressure sales techniques—two salespeople for one customer, saying, "You know, we only accept the highest potential people." (Are you worthy?) Such places might charge enormous flat fees to imply higher quality. Ask for credentials, and don't sign a contract unless you've read it carefully.

Tips for choosing mentors • Look for mentors with whom you can establish a mutually beneficial relationship. (One benefit for the mentor is having the satisfaction of helping another person develop into the best that he or she can be.) • The best mentors help you find progressively more challenging assignments in which you can learn, cultivate an ever wider network of professional relationships, and contribute to the organization. • Establish mentoring relationships with (1) one person within your company (your company mentor), (2) another person who has mastered the area of expertise you're interested in (your skill mentor), and (3) one whose overall career path you find enviable (your career strategy mentor). • For your company mentor, consider choosing a recent retiree—someone whose influence within the company is still strong—or someone who shares a passionate interest of yours. • For your skill mentor, choose someone who possesses a higher level of functional experience than you do. Trade and professional groups are good places to look for skill mentors.


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• For your career mentor, think of a person whom you look up to as an ideal as you chart your professional direction. This is someone who is presently where you would like to be in 10 or 20 years.

Tips for networking • Think of networking as expanding your web of relationships and developing mutually supportive relationships. Every time you talk with someone new about work, make an effort not only to learn something new about the other person but also to share something about yourself with him or her. • Make an effort to get to know people beyond the circle of individuals with whom you interact on the basis of habit or with whom you're most comfortable. • In your company directory, identify people who do work that interests you, and get to know them. Tell them you're clarifying your professional-development goals, and ask to have a conversation with them sometime about their work. • Get to know people in your company who you think can help you learn about the kinds of work your organization does and how it operates. • Seize opportunities to meet people from all different parts of the company; for example, attend staffwide meetings and any training opportunities that arise. And make sure to extend your network beyond your organization—if your company eliminates your position, you'll be glad you know people in other places. • If you learn that someone's holding a meeting that interests you, ask him or her if it's okay for you attend. • Whenever you're talking with others about work, always be aware of the context from which they're speaking. For instance, if you know that someone has a bad relationship with his boss, and he says that he hates his job, don't automatically assume that the work would not interest you.

Tips for informational interviewing • Often in an informational interview, you will have two agendas: (1) to learn something, and (2) possibly to get a job offer. Therefore, come prepared to learn and to show your best side. • If you're nervous about asking someone for an informational interview, remember: You're not asking people for a job—you're primarily asking for information about their work or their department. Most people are happy to help if you keep the meeting short (about 20 minutes). • Contact potential interviewees by phone or e-mail; that way, if they're busy, they can return your call or message when it's more convenient for them. • Try framing your phone or e-mail request for an informational interview in approximately these words: "Hello, Carmen. My name's Alexander Freiburg. I'm a publications manager here at ABC Co., and I'm interested in learning more about systems analysis. My colleague Sasha White said that you'd be a great person for me to speak with. Would you be able to talk with me for few moments, either now or at some other time? I won't take more than 20 minutes of your time." • If you sense that someone is agreeable to meeting with you, ask for a specific appointment at a time convenient to him or her. If the person is not available by phone or e-mail, contact an assistant. Call the day before or the morning of the appointment to confirm. • Start off by interviewing with people who are the least likely to offer you a job (or for whom you would least want to work)—and ask your most basic questions there. Then you'll be more informed and make a stronger impression when you meet with people who are more likely to have a job offer that you would want. • Arrive for the interview a few minutes early. • Stick to the time limit that you and the interviewee agreed on. Start concluding the meeting a few minutes before the allotted time limit, to let the interviewee know that you're honoring your agreement. • Dress approximately as formally or informally as you expect your interviewee to be dressed—or, to play it safe, one step more formally—but never less formally. • As one of your questions to the interviewee, ask what he or she feels is the biggest challenge facing their department. That way, if you end up exploring a possible job opportunity with that person, you can position yourself specifically as someone who can help solve that problem. • Resolve not to leave the interview without the name of at least one more person you can contact for a different point of view—either inside or outside of the interviewee's organization. • Ask your interviewee if he or she knows of other opportunities that might interest you.

Tips for getting the skills you need • Don't assume that you have to go back to school for a new degree or certification to get the skills that a new work role requires. • Find out what kinds of skill-development opportunities your company offers. These might include in-house or offsite seminars, apprenticeships, or workshops. • Explore special-assignment or rotational roles in your company. These can range from one-day to six-month assignments—or longer— depending on the program and opportunity.


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• There are lots of different ways to learn something new: Consider doing some volunteer work that would help you hone a particular skill, subscribing to skills-oriented newsletters or magazines, using audio- and videotapes, taking a select course or two at your local college, and reading books. • If you do want to earn a new degree, don't assume that you have to go the whole route on a college campus. Some degree programs give credit for work experience. • Consider exploring alternatives to classroom-based courses, such as distance learning, self-paced study programs, and online classes. • Visit your company's career center, as well as your town library, to research various learning options. Adult-education centers, community colleges, university extension offices, and bookstores also make excellent resources. • If you're worried about tuition costs, visit a financial-aid counselor, either at a school you're considering attending or at your local community college or career center. Also, some companies offer tuition reimbursement for courses that directly relate to your work; check with your organization's career center or human resource department for information. • Contact the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education for a directory of its member organizations and services. The American Management Association also has a wide range of courses. Finally, most professional associations (such as the American Marketing Association and the Society for Human Resource Management) also have courses available for their members.

Tips for staying on course • Beware the "siren songs" that often lure people to choose work that doesn't match their deepest interests: the promise of increased money and status, expectations of finding the perfect work situation, family expectations (whether you're aware of them or not), and excessive competitive striving. • Understand any fears that may be keeping you from moving forward; for example, fear of failing at your new work, of losing the comforts and successes you've gained in your current role, or of seeming too aggressive or ambitious. • Address any lack of knowledge that may be plaguing your career management efforts—such as a lack of knowledge about how your company or the business world works, or a lack of knowledge about yourself. Make clarifying and addressing knowledge gaps an ongoing process. • Each year, set development goals for yourself, even if you're already busy at work. This makes professional development your highest priority. • Keep dreaming about your ideal work situation and planning concrete ways to get there. • Develop your work ethic. Dedicate yourself to being the best professional you can be, and embrace the responsibility of managing your own professional growth. • When choosing new opportunities, make sure they fit your core business interests, values, and skills—and that they "stretch" you just a little. Otherwise, you may end up on the wrong path.

Tips for talking with your supervisor about change • Remember that this is your meeting to lead! • Schedule the meeting in a neutral site, such as a conference room, rather than in your supervisor's office. • Before the meeting, review all the work you've done so far in your professional-development exploration, so that you'll have the details fresh in your mind. • Try to anticipate your supervisor's concerns before the meeting. If you're a high performer, he or she may well be reluctant to change things at all. And your supervisor may find the idea of losing you to a promotion or other kind of job change quite painful. Think of ways to acknowledge and address such concerns. • Come to the meeting with clear statements about why you'd like to make changes, and with clear proposals for solutions—whether those solutions involve redefining your role ("job sculpting"), getting promoted, or moving to a new role. Be ready to sell your ideas! • Be willing to brainstorm ideas for how your current responsibilities might be handled if your supervisor agrees to "sculpt" your job or loses you to a promotion. If you and your manager decide to job sculpt, for example, point out how responsibilities that you want to let go of might be folded into another role. • Let your supervisor know that you appreciate his or her support and insight, and that you're aware (assuming that this is true) that he or she has a strong reputation for supporting career development among employees. This is especially important in companies that make career development a priority. • Bring to the meeting copies of any materials (assessment-tool results, worksheets, notes, as so on) that you are willing to share with your supervisor. You may even want to give these materials to your supervisor before the meeting so that he or she can be better prepared for your conversation. • Clarify your desired outcome for the meeting; for instance, a new assignment, feedback or insight from your supervisor, or networking assistance. • Ask for your supervisor's perceptions of your interests, values, and skills, and for his or her view of potential areas for your development. • End the meeting with a clear discussion of next steps—what they are, and who will do them.

Tips for conducting a professional development review


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• Conduct Professional Development Reviews (PDRs) on a regular basis with your direct reports—ideally, every six months. • Don't be uncomfortable if a direct report tells you that he or she would like to make some work changes. It doesn't necessarily mean that the person no longer wants to report to you or is deeply unhappy at work, or that he or she is thinking about leaving the company. All it means is that the person is wisely taking charge of his or her career-development path. • Initiate professional-development discussions yourself—people like to work for managers who help them in this way. • If your direct report seems somewhat uncomfortable or nervous about discussing change, reassure him or her that professionaldevelopment conversations are valuable for everyone concerned, as well as for the organization. • Review beforehand any materials that your direct report feels comfortable sharing with you, and prepare questions and ideas ahead of time. • Use the language of core business interests, reward values, and skills to help direct reports talk about work changes. • In discussing change options, think first about job sculpting (redefining current roles), second about changing the person's responsibilities, and third about helping the person move to a different position within the company. • During a PDR, ask the person how he or she is doing in general. Is he happy with his work? Is she satisfied overall with her job? Be sure the person knows that you genuinely want to help. Give him or her plenty of time to talk, and listen carefully to what is said.

Discovery log

Skills assessment


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Informational interviewing worksheet

Rewards worksheet


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Career self-assessment worksheet

Online Articles Jeffery A. Sonnenfeld and Andrew J. Ward. "Firing Back: How Great Leaders Rebound After Career Disasters." Harvard Busines Review. Boston: Harvard Business School Publishing, January 2007. Among the tests of a leader, few are more challenging—and more painful—than recovering from a career catastrophe. Still, two decades of consulting experience, scholarly research, and their own personal experiences have convinced the authors that leaders can triumph over tragedy—if they do so deliberately. Great business leaders have much in common with the great heroes of universal myth, and they can learn to overcome profound setbacks by thinking in heroic terms. First, they must decide whether or not to fight back. Either way, they must recruit others into their battle. They must then take steps to recover their heroic status, in the process proving, both to others and to themselves, that they have the mettle necessary to recover their heroic mission. Whatever the cause of your predicament, it makes sense to get your story out.

Deborah M. Kolb. "Negotiate for What You Need to Succeed." Harvard Management Update, September 2005. What happened the last time you faced a new leadership opportunity? Whether you were called on to head a team, a unit, or a company, chances are you negotiated the salary for the appointment and its perquisites--your title, vacation, and bonus. But did you negotiate for what you would need to succeed in the new role? All new leaders will be tested in their roles and need to negotiate to improve their odds of success. Yet, people often fail to address issues critical to their ability to perform on the job: their fit with the role, support in legitimating their appointment, and the resources to get the job done. Learn strategies that will help you thrive in your new leadership role. A version of this article appeared in the January 2005 issue of the Negotiation newsletter.

Harvard ManageMentor Web Site Visit the Harvard ManageMentor Web site to explore additional online resources available to you from Harvard Business School Publishing.


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Articles Click on a link below to go to Harvard Business Online, the Web site of Harvard Business School Publishing, where you can browse or purchase products. Your Harvard ManageMentor program will remain open while you are at the site. Timothy Butler and James Waldroop. "Job Sculpting: The Art of Retaining Your Best People." Harvard Business Review, OnPoint Enhanced Edition, February 2000. Helping people define their ideal jobs benefits everyone: employees, their managers, and the organization. This article shows how managers can play a central role in this process, retaining valuable employees by customizing work to better match employees' deepest interests.

Timothy Butler and James Waldroop. "Understanding People 'People.'" Harvard Business Review, OnPoint Enhanced Edition, June 2004. Because people do their best work when it most closely matches their interests, the authors contend, managers can increase productivity by taking into account employees' relational interests and skills when making personnel choices and project assignments. After analyzing the psychological tests of more than 7,000 business professionals, the authors identified four dimensions of relational work: influence, interpersonal facilitation, relational creativity, and team leadership. Understanding these four dimensions will help you get optimal performance from your employees, appropriately reward their work, and assist them in setting career goals. It will also help you make better choices when it comes to your own career development. To get started, try the authors' free online assessment tool, which measures both your orientation toward relational work in general and your interest level in each of its four dimensions.

Loren Gary. "The Next Ideas: Rethinking Money and Motivation." Harvard Management Update, April 2004. Because our attitudes toward money reveal so much about our personalities, perhaps concerns about money can reveal our deep-seated interests. Ever heard the advice, "Do what you love and the money will follow?" For the last half-century, it's been the prevailing view among management thinkers. But now, social critics and executive coaches alike are struck by the way in which an increasingly affluent culture can make the search for meaning and purpose more difficult and are showing a keen interest in the psychology of money.

Laura Nash and Howard Stevenson. "Success That Lasts." Harvard Business Review, OnPoint Enhanced Edition, April 2004. Nash and Stevenson have built a practical framework for a new way of thinking about success—a way that leads to personal and professional fulfillment instead of feelings of anxiety and stress. The authors' research uncovered four irreducible components of success: happiness (feelings of pleasure or contentment about your life); achievement (accomplishments that compare favorably against similar goals others have strived for); significance (the sense that you've made a positive impact on people you care about); and legacy (a way to establish your values or accomplishments so as to help others find future success). People who achieve lasting success, the authors learned, tend to rely on a kaleidoscope strategy to structure their aspirations and activities. This article explains how to build your own kaleidoscope framework.

Books Click on a link below to go to Harvard Business Online, the Web site of Harvard Business School Publishing, where you can browse or purchase products. Your Harvard ManageMentor program will remain open while you are at the site. Laurence G. Boldt. Zen and the Art of Making a Living: A Practical Guide to Creative Career Design. New York: Penguin/Arkana, 1999. In the author's view, everyone is the "artist" of his or her own life. Part I helps you identify deeply satisfying work. Part II provides practical steps to finding or creating that work. A wealth of worksheets, ideas, and strategies supplement the author's ideas.

Timothy Butler and James Waldroop. Discovering Your Career in Business. Cambridge: Perseus Books, 1997. This book presents the theoretical framework behind the Harvard ManageMentor PLUS "Managing Your Career" topic and the authors' Internet-based career self-assessment and management program, CareerLeader®. The authors provide valuable case examples and exercises for identifying your core business interests.

Timothy Butler and James Waldroop. Maximum Success: Changing the 12 Behavior Patterns That Keep You from Getting Ahead. New York: Currency/Doubleday, 2000. Part of managing your own career development is knowing which behaviors are keeping you from your full potential. Using nearly 40 years of field research, the authors describe the 12 most common problem-behavior patterns, explore the psychological reasons behind them, and show you how to change them for maximum performance.

Daisy Wademan. Remember Who You Are: Life Stories That Inspire the Heart and Mind. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 2004. Leadership requires many attributes besides intelligence and business savvy—courage, character, compassion, and respect are just a few. New managers learn concrete skills in the classroom or on the job, but where do they hone the equally important human values that will guide them through a career that is both successful and meaningful? In this inspirational book, Daisy Wademan gathers lessons on balancing the personal and professional responsibilities of leadership from faculty members of Harvard Business School. Offering a rare glimpse inside the classrooms in which many of the world's prominent leaders are trained, Remember Who You Are imparts lessons learned not in business, but in life.


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Source Notes Learn Laurence G. Boldt. Zen and the Art of Making a Living. New York: Penguin/Arkana, 1999. Richard N. Bolles. The Three Boxes of Life and How to Get Out of Them. Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press, 1981. Timothy Butler and James Waldroop. Discovering Your Career in Business. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books, 1997. Timothy Butler and James Waldroop. "Job Sculpting: The Art of Retaining Your Best People." Harvard Business Review, September-October 1999. Katie Carlone. Personal communication. September 13, 2000. Caela Farren. Who's Running Your Career? Austin, TX: Bard Press, 1997. Cliff Hakim. We Are All Self-Employed. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler, 1994. Linda Hill, "Managing Your Career." Harvard Business School Publishing, December 15, 1998. Product no. 9-494-082. Robert H. Waterman, Jr., Judith A. Waterman, and Betsy A. Collard. "Toward a Career-Resilient Workforce." Harvard Business Review, JulyAugust 1994. Steps Laurence G. Boldt. Zen and the Art of Making a Living. New York: Penguin/Arkana, 1999. Timothy Butler and James Waldroop. Discovering Your Career in Business. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books, 1997. James Waldroop. Personal communication. October 12, 2000. Tips Jim Billington. "Meet Your New Mentor: It's a Network." Harvard Management Update, August 1997. Laurence G. Boldt. Zen and the Art of Making a Living. New York: Penguin/Arkana, 1999. Richard N. Bolles. The Three Boxes of Life and How to Get Out of Them. Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press, 1981. Timothy Butler and James Waldroop. Discovering Your Career in Business. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books, 1997. Katie Carlone. Personal communication. September 13, 2000. Caela Farren. Who's Running Your Career? Austin, TX: Bard Press, 1997. Linda Hill, "Managing Your Career." Harvard Business School Publishing, December 15, 1998. Richard Koonce, "How To Prevent Professional Obsolescence." Training & Development, February 1999. Morgan W. McCall, Jr. High Flyers: Developing the Next Generation of Leaders. Cambridge: Harvard Business School Press, 1998. Barbara Moses. The Good News about Careers: How You'll Be Working in the Next Decade. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1999. James Waldroop. Personal communication. October 25, 2000.

Version 10.0.20100624 © 2007 Harvard Business School Publishing. All rights reserved.


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